Is this your life: wake up; job application; dribble some Weetabix into your mouth; do a job application; get eight rejection letters; cry; do a job application; work out if you can afford to eat lunch; do a job application; get another rejection; smash fist into wall; do another job application?

Depressed? Of course you are! Psychologist and career coach Denise Taylor has some advice.

I keep getting rejected for every job I apply for

So you’ve applied for dozens of jobs – maybe even hundreds – but the ‘no’ letters keep slamming into your inbox. That is, if the employer can even be bothered to reject you.

Yes, the economy is crap. And to some intent and purposes, this isn’t your fault and you can blame the job market. But it could be your sending-to-anyone-about-any-job approach that’s causing the problem. Job applications are very much about quality, not quantity.

“If you’re applying for loads of jobs in a short period of time then you’re not doing it properly,” says Denise. “Rather than 10 a day, maybe try four really well-researched and thought-through applications a week?”

Is it your CV or your interview technique that’s the problem?

If you’re not getting any job interviews then you need to look at your CV and covering letter. Read our CV checklist and cover letter articles to see where you may be going wrong.

I’m getting so depressed doing nothing every day

It’s important to have a structure to your workless life. Not just for your mental health, but for showing potential employers that you’re not a couch potato too.

“The worst thing you can do is stay in bed ’til noon, watch TV all day, and then go to bed at 4am,” says Denise. “Are you really looking for a job then? Employers want to know you’re capable of getting up in the morning and that you have a good work ethic.”

Start incorporating a routine into your daily life. Get up at the same (reasonable) hour, dedicate a certain amount of time to working on job applications, then go for a walk, and maybe volunteer with your spare time too.

“Doing voluntary work, especially helping people less fortunate than you, can really help put things in perspective,” says Denise. “It gets you out the house and it’s also something to talk about at interview.”

I’m bored of being constantly broke

A combination of a) being young, and b) having a lot of spare time, could actually provide ample opportunity to line your pockets while you job search.

Look around your local community. What service could you provide to others to stop you going stir-crazy and to earn some cash? Maybe dogwalking? Or babysitting? All will look good on your CV.

Or if you fancy being really entrepreneurial, use that YOUTH inside your brain to make cash. Basically, you grew up with the internet and using it comes instinctively to you. But lots of older people are scared stiff of modern technology – despite the world moving to an almost utterly-digital age.

Why not ask local businesses if you can create them a Facebook page or Twitter account? Maybe charge no fee for the first one you do in exchange for a good recommendation, and then hit another local business. Or even ask your neighbours if they want tutorials in simple things – like how to buy groceries online, or how to use Facebook.

You never know, things might start to take off then you can look into getting a loan to expand your mini-business.

I’m actually just really depressed and I don’t want to do anything

Endless unemployment is totally crap. And it can be hard to be all Annie about it day after day. In fact, Denise recommends bumming out occasionally as part of the process.

“You should try to keep active but sometimes you should just give up for, say, a week,” she says. “Say to yourself ‘I don’t care, I’m not going to apply for anything for a week’, and then start again a fresh. Sometimes it’s better to give yourself a break.”

If you’re feeling constantly down, lethargic, and helpless though, it may be worth speaking to your GP to make sure you’re not getting depressed.

Next Steps

Young Women’s Trust Grants Service provides financial support, up to £500, to young women aged 18-30 who have limited financial resources, to help them overcome practical barriers to work.

How can we help?

Welcome to The Mix, a support service for young people. There are loads of ways you can get support from us, including our articles, videos, helpline, counselling, forums, apps and more. To find which service suits your needs use the drop down menu below.

You have not entered information into all
the fields below

How are you feeling?

Please fill the required field

Age?Please enter a number

Where do you
live?

Please fill the required field

What issue would you like us
to help you with?Please fill the required field

By ticking this box, you're agreeing that we can use your data for webchat. We keep a copy of all of our webchat transcripts and we use information about you to make sure that we can provide our webchat service in the best possible way. You can read more about how we store helpline data here and situations when that might change in our Confidentiality Policy.*You must agree with the terms in our privacy policy

Sign up

Welcome to The Mix, the online guide to life for young people in the UK.

Your Voices is a community-focused section of The Mix where you can share stories about your experiences on a specific issue. Upload your own videos, images, blog posts, and playlists to Your Voices and share them with your friends.

Don't have a Your Voices account? Sign up here to submit your own content.

This field can't be emptyUsername can not be longer than 12 charactersUsername can contain only letters, numbers . - _ @This field can't be emptyThis field can't be emptyThis field can't be emptyThis field can't be emptyInvalid emailThis field can't be emptyInvalid password, it needs to be at least 6 charactersThis field can't be emptyPasswords don't match

Please select where did you hear about us

Please select where do you live

I have read and
accepted the Terms of Use and Privacy
Policy *You must accept the terms and conditionsBy ticking this box I confirm to have my data processed in order to sign up to The Mix's website *You must agree to have your data processed in order to sign up to The Mix's website